


Drama Queens—Is This a Relationship Job

by crayonbreakygal



Category: Leverage
Genre: Bickering, Bromance, F/M, Multi, Relationship(s), Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-06
Updated: 2018-02-06
Packaged: 2019-03-14 18:30:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,626
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13595865
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/crayonbreakygal/pseuds/crayonbreakygal
Summary: Relationships are defined and redefined. Is it a relationship? A bromance?  A friends with benefits?  Who knows what?  Relationship status:  COMPLICATED!  Takes place season four.





	Drama Queens—Is This a Relationship Job

**Author's Note:**

> When did Sophie know? When did Nate figure it out? What defines a relationship? Who can be involved in a relationship? Why are they all so jealous? Who are really the drama queens? It's most certainly not Parker and Sophie.

Drama Queens—Is This a Relationship Job

 

“No, no. Every single time you plan it this way.”

“It’s gonna work. I swear. Not like last time.”

“Nate.”

“Sophie.”

He’d done it again. Sophie had asked him to please, please not make them a married couple in this con. The last time he had this bright idea, it almost had gone all to hell in a handbasket.  It was even dicey to have them be romantically involved for a con. Why didn’t he understand?

“You know what trouble you get yourself into.”

“Me?  I get into trouble?  I think the last time, wasn’t it your fault?”

“My fault?”

The two of them squared off at the dining room table, one on one side, the other ready to lunge over and choke the living hell out of the one who thought the planning was stellar.

“Pointing out what I did wrong right in front of the mark?  And you’re saying it was my fault?”

“I was in character.”

“No, you were pissed,” Eliot chimed in as he carried the salad from the kitchen.

“Of course I was pissed off. He blew it even before then.  If it hadn’t been for Parker, we wouldn’t be having this argument right now.  You would have been thrown in the harbor with those so-called concrete shoes your version of the mob loves to use and I would be dead. Remember those guns?”

“I remember those guns,” Eliot mumbled as he headed back into the kitchen for more food.

“See? Eliot remembers because he had to take care of those guns and those goons.”

“We had it covered.”

“From what I remember, Soph, you blew cover first,” Eliot said as he brought out the pasta.

“Excuse me? Did I ask for your opinion?”

Nate crossed his arms over his chest and shook his head in agreement with Eliot.

“Hey, I’m not on your side, Nate. You both fucked up. I say no married people. But do either one of you listen to me?  And no relationships, period. We gotta have each other’s backs, man.”

Eliot retreated back into the kitchen.  Sophie slapped her hands down onto the table in triumph, leaning in to stare Nate down. Nate proceeded to do the same thing to her, eyes blazing in defiance.

“Maybe Eliot’s right. Relationships in the workplace?”

Sophie shushed Nate with her finger. “Don’t you dare, Nate. Do you hear me?  You think this is a relationship?”

Nate dropped his head down to look at the table.  Now Sophie realized she had opened another can of worms. Eliot and his damn opinions.

“What do you call it then?”

“Friends. With certain benefits.”

“Yeah, right.”

Instead of staying to fight more with her, he tossed the file folder he had contemplated taking with him back on the table and proceeded to the spiral staircase.

“Hey, hey, don’t you walk away from me.”

“Oh goodie. Mom and Dad are fighting again,” Hardison announced as he and Parker entered the apartment.

“I am not your father, Hardison,” Nate yelled from halfway up the stairs.

“Thank god you’re not, cuz, well, just because.”

Eliot chose to join in again, bringing in the last of the food for consumption.

“Nate, get your ass back down here.  Dinner’s ready.”

“Oh, are you three having a thing, because Hardison and I can come back later.”

“What thing? Parker, where do you come up with this crap?”

Eliot looked ticked at Parker, but Parker as usual did not notice it or chose to ignore his angry features.

“That three way thing, like Nate and Sophie get pissed at each other, you come in and jump onto whatever side you feel like is gonna win, you sooth the other one, there’s more shouting, and then probably some late night make-up sex, for three.”

Sophie could see Nate’s feet at the top of the steps stop, almost trip up the last step from Parker’s weird assessment, then proceed to turn right back around to come down. Sophie just hoped that he didn’t fall and break a leg or something since now his stride was very determined.

“Uh oh, shit’s gonna hit the fan, sweetie.  Maybe you shouldn’t have said that.”

“I mean, come on, who are we all kidding? Not like Eliot and Hardison don’t make out every single time there’s poking going on?”

“Parker,” Eliot yelled back.

“Park, Park, Parker. I don’t even.”

“Are you sure?  I just thought that the bromance thing was happening.”

Sophie could tell that Nate wanted to get a word in before Parker really went off the deep end with her obsession with anything sexual. Instead, Hardison took his very large hand and placed it over her mouth.

“Parker. Parker,” Hardison said as he pointed to her.  “It’s just, remember, we talked about this.”

Parker shook her head yes.

“And you said that there would be no more conspiracy theories. Correct?”

“They’re not conspiracy theories,” Parker replied, voice muffled by Hardison’s hand.

“There is no kissing, Parker. None,” Eliot stated, spoon in his hand waving all around.

“Parker, Eliot is not, he’s not doing what you think he’s doing. It’s just, no, Parker.”

“Oh, so you two admit it?”

Hardison had her there on that one. Only Nate had to jump in to ruin their chances of getting out of the discussion unscathed.

“We are not having this conversation. Got it?  What I do or what Sophie does…”

“Every single time the two of you argue when it’s not necessary, it makes my job so fucking hard, it’s not even funny,” Eliot grumbled.

“You do have to admit, Nate, the two of you are fighting a lot lately,” Hardison stated as he pulled his hand away from Parker’s shocked face.

“Oh, so, they are sleeping with each other. I knew that. Yeah,” Parker finished, looking between the brains and the heart of their little group.

Instead of staying to finish out the conversation, Sophie turned, grabbed her purse and was out the door before Nate even had time to get a word in edgewise. Better to leave them wanting, than having them ask a million questions.

 

“Do we fight too much?” Nate said as he stood directly behind Sophie.

“You are getting entirely too good at picking locks.”

Sophie knew he was in the vicinity. It was like her sixth sense at this point in her life to know where Nate Ford was at all times.  Then she couldn’t be surprised by him, no matter what the cost or outcome.

“Learned from the best.”

“You already knew how to pick a lock before you met them.”

“I did.  Always room for improvement though. I asked you a question.”

And how was she supposed to answer?  She’d seen grifting teams split up for less than what they were doing with each other.  Of course, most grifters were only out for themselves, so that probably had something to do with it also.

“I’m sorry.”

Did he just say he was sorry? Nate Ford, the man who thought he was god’s gift to saving the downtrodden, who gloated when he won, had just said he was sorry. Sophie thought she probably looked like a fish just standing there with her mouth half open, not knowing what to say back to him.

“Nate, it’s just, we, I’m not sure. Dammit, Nate.  Why do you choose to disarm me like this?”

“Keeps you on your toes.” He grinned back at her.

“Oh bloody hell. So now they think we’re in a real relationship instead of just screwing each other’s brains out?”

Now it was Nate’s turn to be speechless. It didn’t happen very often, but when it did, she cherished it.

“I, well, maybe. Not sure, um. Are we?”

“Are we what?”

Nate looked down at his shoes, put his hands in his pockets so that he wouldn’t reach out for her, attempt to appease her. She knew how he operated.  If he made himself look like a little boy lost, she’d either agree with whatever he was saying, or she’d forget what they were arguing over in mere seconds. He knew exactly what he was doing.

“It’s not going to work, you know.”

“Relationship. Can’t say the word?”

Now he throws down the gauntlet to see if she takes the bait, she thought.  Then he would try to worm his way out of this predicament. She’d seen it before from him.  As usual, he didn’t follow protocol and took those few steps to get closer to her. He flashed his big, blue eyes at her, eyes wide in anticipation.

“Puppy dog eyes are really not becoming on a man of your age.”

“I was kinda going for the I’m being sincere look for once. Thought it might work this time.”

“You? Sincere?  Well, maybe that one time in Paris, after you shot me.”

“I was hyped up on pain killers. Dry swallowed pain killers.”

“I couldn’t help that you refused the water.”

Dammit, why was it that this man could disarm her with just one look?

“We could compare scars?”

“You’d win.”

 

“I hate traveling.”

“You hate the fact that there isn’t any air ducts large enough on this job for you to hide out in.”

“I mean, yeah.  No safes either.  Boo on Nate.”

“Quit squirming.”

“Well, if you guys would give me some room, I wouldn’t have to shift. I like our bed better.”

Parker liked all hands on deck, so to speak.  Having Eliot on one side and Hardison on the other never really did bother her.  Most of the time Hardison was in the middle since even though he was the largest of the three, he seemed to be the one who was the most still while he slept. 

“King sized boat of love,” Hardison snorted out.

“Where do you come up with that crap?”

“Hey, Mr. I’m only romantic when I have to be.”

Eliot reached his hand over to lightly slap Hardison upside the head.

“Guys, cool it. I thought there was enough rough stuff already. Besides, they’ll hear.”

The only light in the room was the one that filtered in from the streetlight outside.  The sounds of cars far below in addition to the air conditioning coming on and off at intervals were the only sounds Parker could hear in the suite. 

Nate and Sophie had gone off into another room early on, still arguing about what had happened that day.  Yes, the con had almost gone sideways because Nate almost blew it with his jealousy.  The mark got a little too close to Sophie, which in turn made Nate angry, which in turn almost messed the whole thing up. 

“Are you guys jealous?”  That question popped into her head once she combed over what had happened a few hours before.

“Jealous of what?” Hardison asked.

“The mark. He put the moves on Sophie, then me.  I thought Nate was gonna have a coronary right there. I mean, because of Sophie, not me.”

Eliot turned to lie flat on his back instead of snuggling up against her back.

“I mean, well, maybe, sort of. I know you can handle yourself though.”

“No, silly. Of course I can handle myself.  I mean when the mark said all those things.”

“Those creepy things,” Hardison joined in, voice sounding a bit more jealous than Eliot’s had. “Listen, we’re not jealous.”

“You’re not jealous of each other?”

Elephant in the room.  Parker sometimes didn’t understand that reference, but now she was getting it.

“Parker, going into this, we knew there’d be times when one person was the odd one out. Luckily Hardison knows how to share.”

There was a fist bump over her head as the men agreed on some unwritten code that only the two of them knew.

“Besides, we are just a little more laid back than our boss is.  Sometimes he is wound so tight, he spins off into directions even I don’t understand.”

“And Sophie is usually right in the middle of that storm,” Eliot finished off Hardison’s thought.

“So they’re really in a relationship?” Parker asked the two.

“Dude is so into it, there might not be a way out.”

Hardison buried his face in Parker’s neck.

“So what are we then?”

“Oh, um…”

“Well, we, um…”

 

Nate couldn’t sleep. The afternoon was eventful to say the least.  He’d gather his thoughts the next morning and figure out a way to salvage what they’d almost blown up.  He wasn’t counting on the mark doing what he did.  If he hadn’t stopped the man, there was no telling what he could have done to Sophie or Parker.  He hadn’t discussed the incident with Eliot or Hardison, so they had no idea what he’d seen or heard prior to him bursting into the room looking like a jealous lover. 

“Should have gone with married couple,” he mumbled to himself.

Downing his drink, he turned to go back into his bedroom when he encountered Parker.  A very scantily clad Parker, who probably did not have anything on under that towel she had wrapped around her.

“Nate, you’re not supposed to be up.”

There had to be a story, since her room was across the way.  From what he remembered, that was Eliot’s room.

Nate shook the ice in his glass.

“Couldn’t sleep,” he said as he eyed her warily.

“Well, I was just, you know, looking for my soap. You know, taking a shower helps me sleep.”

“Your hair’s not wet. No soap.”

“It wasn’t in there.”

This was one reason why they used Parker sparingly as a grifter. She was an awful liar.  The only reason that some people believed her was how awkward she could become.  He knew her tells though. Even in the darkness of the room, he could see how bright her eyes were, how she fidgeted, her fingers moving, twisting.  Hiding something wasn’t something she’d learned yet.

“Listen, it’s none of my business. Just, be careful.”

“Careful. Very, very careful,” Parker singsonged back. “You too. I mean, don’t hurt Sophie. She’s my friend.”

“I don’t intend to.”

“That’s what they all say,” Parker told him, charging past finally to go to her room.

Conversations with Parker always had profound outcomes, which meant that what she had to say seemed to affect him more than he ever thought it would. 

“Parker, are you alright?”

“Yeah, Nate. I’m just tired.  Don’t be jealous. Just don’t be jealous. Too jealous.  Although it is nice that you can be jealous every once in a while. Unlike those two idiots.”

Parker quietly closed her door, leaving him with his thoughts.  Only when those thoughts started to travel, go over what had happened in the last few weeks, his eyes widened.  Now wasn’t that interesting.

 

“Why are you staring at me?” Sophie groggily asked him.

He was afraid to crawl back into bed with her, trying not to wake her from her deep slumber.  They’d fought for quite a while after they’d gotten back to the room. His mind and body had been too ramped up to sleep, so he’d sat on the chair in the bedroom until she’d fallen asleep, then had wandered into the other room looking for a drink.

“Thinking.”

“Yeah, it’s what you do best. Come to bed.”

“I didn’t think you wanted me to.”

“Quit pouting.”

“We gotta think of a better way to argue.”

“Oh, really?” Sophie shot back sarcastically.  “I thought you just liked the make-up sex.”

“There is that.”

It didn’t take him long to strip down to his boxers and climb into the warm bed with Sophie.

“I discovered something very interesting tonight.”

Sophie didn’t turn toward him, but she most definitely moved closer.

“The fact that I need more than a few hours of sleep? Or maybe you do?”

“No, well, yes. No, no. Parker.  I ran into her. Towel only.”

“Hmm.  Did she stammer, make up some wild story?”

Nate moved closer to Sophie, almost touching but not quite.

“She is the worst liar. You gotta work with her on that.”

“You are so dense sometimes.”

“Dense?  You knew.”

“I’ve known for quite some time.”

“How does that work, anyway?”

“You’re a guy. Figure it out in that big brain of yours.”

“Not really wanting that visual.”

Sophie chuckled as she reached around her back to pull him closer.

“Oh darling, you really haven’t seen it all.”

“Don’t tell me you’ve had a threesome?”

“I don’t kiss and tell,” Sophie sighed out as Nate turned her over on her stomach. “Besides, I have all I can handle right now.”

“Too many hands.”

“This better be to make up for what happened today.”

“As you said, make-up sex is the best.”

“No, your make-up sex is the best.”

Sophie had been snuggled down into the blankets when he’d come back into the room. He hadn’t noticed that she’d shed her clothes, but now was discovering all the warm skin underneath the sheet.

“Are you saying you like me angry?” he whispered in her ear.

Sophie sighed as she arched her back, urging him forward.

“You’ve always been a little rough around the edges.”

“Really?” he stated as the boxers went flying off the bed.

“Nate?”

“Sophie?” Nate answered as his hands skimmed her smooth back.

“Remember when I said I liked foreplay?”

“Yes.”

His hands had made it to her legs.

“Get on with it. You were lucky I didn’t slam you up against the wall today.”

At no point during the day had she even said that she was horny or wanted him. Of course, they had argued quite a bit before, during and after. Then it dawned on him.

“You like arguing with me.”

“Most of the time.  Just fuck me before I spontaneously combust,” Sophie said as she wriggled on the bed.

 

Eliot’s shoulder ached, knowing that he probably should have done something about the swelling before he’d gone to bed the night before.  As he reached out, he noticed that he was now alone in the bed, sun peeking through the drawn curtains. He never slept in this late, but no one had come to say they needed him.  After what had happened the day before, and the fact that now Parker was angry with him for some slight he really hadn’t figured out yet, he thought that sleep might help clear his mind.

Even Hardison didn’t understand why Parker had abruptly gotten up out of bed and marched out without even saying goodnight.  They usually didn’t stay in each other’s room when Sophie and Nate were around and they were on a job.  It just happened.

Hardison had grumpily followed a few minutes later, back to his room.  Eliot had gotten used to having at least one of them to warm his bed at night. 

By the voices on the other side of the door, someone must be up.  He really was not up to refereeing Nate and Sophie, so he trudged into the shower and turned it up very hot. The heat helped work the kinks out of the muscles on the shoulder. It still wasn’t completely healed from the last job, but since this job seemed to not involve violence of any kind, he agreed with Nate that they could proceed with caution.

After showering, he dressed and joined the rest of the crew. The whiteboard in the middle of the room had all sorts of squiggles on it, mostly made by Nate, a few additions from Sophie and some markouts by Hardison. Parker was nowhere to be found.

Putting his hand up, he motioned to Hardison that his comments would have to wait. He needed coffee in the worst way.

“Morning, sleeping beauty. Glad you could join us,” Hardison answered sarcastically.

Eliot gave him the finger and sat down at the table, which was spread with an assortment of baked goods and breakfast items.  At least someone had ordered breakfast, probably Sophie. She did not like being up this early, which was only after 9am, but that was early for her.

“Hardison, did you find…” Nate started.

“Yeah, yeah. See, here.”

Eliot watched as Hardison showed Nate what he found.  Sophie was quiet, sipping her tea as she nibbled on her scone.

“Parker?” Eliot asked finally, wondering where the thief was.

“Left. I dunno.  She’ll be back soon. Probably climbing some building or something.”

When Parker hadn’t come back an hour later, Eliot started to worry. Pulling out his cell phone, he tapped in the number since she had a burner for this job. No answer. Then he called her phone, hoping that she’d taken it with her.  Nothing. He heard a ping from her bedroom, so she definitely hadn’t taken that one with her. His senses were telling him that something was up. What, he didn’t know.

“When she leave?” he finally asked Hardison after exhausting all the numbers he knew she might answer.

“I dunno. Right before I got up. I heard the door slam.”

“A little before 8,” Nate chimed in. “Eliot?”

“Not like her to go awol like this. Sure, that first year, totally her.  She just doesn’t do that now.”

Sophie got on the house phone and called down, hoping that she left a message at the front desk.

“Yes. Yes. I’m looking for Alice White.  She hasn’t returned from her morning shopping. I was wondering if you’d seen her. Yes.  Really.”

Sophie snapped her fingers at Hardison so that she had his attention.

“Feeds. Can you tap into them?”

“From here? I don’t know. Why?”

“I understand. Thank you.”

“She met up with someone?” Nate interjected.

“Something is wrong,” Eliot said as he pushed his feet in his shoes. “Hardison, figure out their feeds.”

“Did she have the burner phone with her?” Nate asked.

Hardison tapped away at his laptop, pulling up the tracer on Parker’s burner.

“Unless she’s still down in the lobby, no.”

“Figure out who she met and which way they went after leaving.”

The four just looked at each other, knowing that this was a possible red alert situation.

“Parker wouldn’t go with someone willingly,” Eliot said as he put his jacket on.

“She was probably threatened.  Hardison, find out where our mark is.”

“He’s not violent, Nate,” Sophie pointed out as both Nate and Eliot headed for the door.

After questioning the desk clerk and the doorman, Eliot looked around at the security cameras, the outside of the hotel in New York City.  Parker could just disappear without a trace if she wanted.  She was just that stealthy. There were cameras everywhere, so if she was taken purposely, they could track her.

“Hardison, talk to me,” Eliot said as he called the hacker.

“The guy had his back turned away from the cameras. It’s like he knew. Sign language. Seriously.  Eliot, get up here and look at this.  I think she’s signing who she’s with.”

Both he and Nate made it to the elevator at the same time from searching the lobby.

“Let’s see.  B. A. L. E. N,” Sophie was saying as the two entered the suite.

“G. E. R. Balenger.  Who?”

“Head of security for the mark. What the hell?”

“He make us?” Nate said as he viewed the security footage again on Hardison’s laptop.

“I don’t know how he did. Oh, jesus. Gun. He has a gun. Right there.”

Hardison pointed out the gun underneath the guy’s jacket.

“What did he say to make her go with him?”

Eliot was racking his brain on why this guy would have done this to Parker.  He had no way to know that they were pulling a con.  Parker wasn’t even a major player in this. She was Sophie’s assistant. She hadn’t even opened her mouth yesterday, although the mark still made comments about her looks. 

Hardison worked on pulling the cameras out on the street so they could get a visual on where he’d taken her. 

“Trace that vehicle,” Nate said as he watched Hardison work.

Eliot paced as Hardison worked his magic.

“He took her back to their offices,” Hardison concluded, showing them the footage. “Why? It’s Saturday. We know that the mark is going to that charity function tonight.  He’s not there.  The tracer I put on him has his whereabouts at home.”

“Let’s go. Worry about that when we get there. Hardison, we need a way in since it is Saturday.”

Nate was already in planning mode. Eliot just hoped he had something up his sleeve because that building would be a nightmare to case on such short notice.

“Nate, I hope you have an idea on how to get in there.”

“I do. We go through the front door.”

Their mastermind’s plan hit a few glitches, but he got them in after Sophie stole a key card from one of the guards.  Hardison was in the van, leading them to where he thought Parker might be.  It had taken him some time, but he finally was able to tap into their security feeds.

Nate’s direct approach had its flaws, but in the end, it was all they had.  Hardison had warned them that Parker might be in danger, so time was of the essence.  Knocking out the guards would eventually be found by someone, but they didn’t have time to worry about that.

“You know, I just want to go back to my friends. No one has to know.”

Eliot could hear Parker attempting to reason with the security guy.

“Too late for that.”

Eliot was very worried since the guy was huge. It wasn’t something he couldn’t handle once he got in there and disarmed him. It was the disarming him that had him worried with Parker in the way.

“If you just wanted a date, you could have asked.”

“You’re right. I should have just asked.  Now I’m not asking.”

“That’s just not right,” Hardison cried out on the comm. “What the hell?”

“Where’s Parker in relation to the security guy?” Eliot whispered.

“Parker is sitting at his desk while he paces. He’s getting very agitated. Uh oh.”

“Uh oh?” Nate inquired.

“Parker has her taser.”

“Going in,” Eliot said to Nate and Sophie, not wanting to wait to debate the best plan.

Only when he burst into the room, the security guy was lying on the floor, twitching from being tasered.

“Aww, that’s my girl,” Eliot could hear Hardison cheer.

“You alright?” Nate asked Parker.

“Yeah. Stupid jerk.  That’s not the way you ask for a date, dumbass.”

Unfortunately he had seen all their faces except for Hardison, which meant that the con was completely blown. 

 

“I can’t believe you managed to pull a rabbit out of your hat,” Hardison commented as they all piled into Nate’s apartment.

“It worked, didn’t it?” Nate said as he grabbed the bottle on the table.

“Barely,” Sophie added.

“That was weird.”  Parker plopped down into one of the dining room chairs, looking exhausted.  “I am not the damsel in distress.”

“Taser works,” Eliot said as he pulled out a chair next to her.

“Must have been your awesomeness, Parker,” Hardison said as he sat across from the hitter and thief.

Parker pulled on her skewed ponytail.  Sophie had a similar look after having to sit with Nate and strategize on how to save this con. It had worked, but none of them had gotten much sleep in the past twenty four hours.

“Is there anything we need to clean up, Hardison?”

“I’m sure there is, Nate. There always is. If I can keep my eyes open long enough.”

“Tomorrow. Tomorrow.”  Nate took a swig of the alcohol straight from the bottle.

Parker grabbed it out of his hand right after he drank from it and took a swallow, daring him to say anything.

“I just didn’t see that happening. Jealousy?  He was jealous of you, Parker.” Sophie shook her head in disbelief.

“This one was more soap opera than job, if you ask me,” Eliot chimed in.

“So he thought if he couldn’t have his boss, then he’d have the girl who his boss hit on.  I thought, well I would have thought…”

Eliot grabbed the bottle off the table and took his own quick drink.  “That it would have been you.  Yeah, well, that was blown when Nate made it known that you were not to be touched.”

“Bullshit,” Nate interjected.

“No, not bullshit, Nate.” Sophie knew she was right.

Hardison now took the bottle, eyed it, then quickly took a sip.

“Jealousy gets you nowhere,” Parker sighed.

Sophie and Parker fist bumped.

“Y’all do not do that.”

“Solidarity, Hardison. It’s called solidarity. You three are the biggest drama queens,” Sophie declared as she grabbed the bottle and finished it off in a flourish.

“Drama?” Nate blasted back.

“You’re jealous every time some man comes along and take a liking to Sophie.  Eliot gets jealous of Hardison when Hardison gives me the least bit of attention. Hardison gets jealous when Eliot tells me how beautiful I am because he didn’t think of it first. Men. Drama queens.”

“Really?” Hardison grumbled back.

“And you three pretend that we don’t know what’s going on,” Sophie informed the rest of them.

“Relationship? Just call it like it is,” Eliot lamented, hands now spread wide on the table before him.

“So y’all know?” Hardison queried.

“Little obvious,” Nate informed the group.

“Well, yeah, I guess when I came out in that towel, probably confirmed everything. Oops.”

“Oh, no, he didn’t know until then,” Sophie confirmed for Parker.

“Dense?” Parker inquired of Sophie.

“Pretty much.”

“I just don’t wanna know what goes on, alright.”

All five of them looked at each other.  Without a doubt, this was a complicated situation in which to deal. 

“Just don’t make it a thing is all I’m saying.”

“Not like we argue and almost blow a con,” Hardison tossed back.

“Well, yeah, we gotta do better.”

“We? We?  You, Nate.”

“And you don’t like to argue?  Nathan I will challenge you Ford doesn’t like to argue? Remember what you said?”

Nate eyed her to not continue the line of questioning.

“You guys are really noisy when there’s make-up sex,” Parker blurted out.

Of course, they all burst out laughing, knowing that was where Parker always went.

“Parker, too much information,” Hardison pointed out to her.

“My apartment,” Nate added.

“We know,” they all joined in.

“Seriously. How am I gonna get any privacy?”

“Give us all a signal or somethin’, man.”

Instead of rolling his eyes at the younger man, he got up, pulled Sophie up from her seated position, and proceeded to show Sophie that he was sorry for what had happened the day before.

“I think that’s a signal. Come on, guys. My bed or yours?”

“Parker, just, no,” Nate declared.

“Y’all nasty. That’s all I gotta say. Hey, what about my place? I think I might have food that’s edible.”

“Food? You call that crap food?” Eliot rebuked Hardison.

“All those veggies and fruit you keep gonna be good?”

“I grow my own. I told you. Much better than those frozen dinners and popcorn.”

“Hey, I like popcorn,” Parker retorted.

“Nate? Threesomes?” Sophie informed the other three, pointing to them.

“Don’t knock it until you try it,” Eliot said as he grabbed his coat to leave.

“Eliot, is there something you want to tell us?” Parker inquired.

Hardison took one arm as Eliot grabbed her other, practically dragging her with them before she could say something else. The door slammed shut quickly before Nate could respond to anything that had been said or implied.

“Ok, we, I’m not, that’s not, just wanted you to know.”

Sophie put her arms around his neck. “Sweetie, your secret is safe with me.”

“There are no secrets,” Nate bemoaned.  “I have a hard enough time keeping up with you.”

“True.”

“Thanks,” Nate responded back, looking like his feelings were just a bit hurt.

“You can make it all up to me,” Sophie said as her fingers started to work through his hair.

“How so?” as he led her to the stairs.

“Bubble bath.”

“That’s it?” he stated as his lips started to nibble on her neck.

“Well, to start with. Care to join me?”

 

“See? This is bed is so much better,” Parker declared as she collapsed on the bed.

“Uh huh,” Eliot said into the pillow, face down and gasping for breath.

“She gonna kill us. One day. I just know it,” Hardison added, hands now above his head, chest heaving a bit as he tried to catch his breath also.

“Nate’s reaction,” Eliot said as he pulled the sheet over his body.

“Was kinda funny,” Hardison said as he completed the task that Eliot had started.

“Are you sure? I mean, it might be kind of hot, you know.”

Both Hardison and Eliot looked at Parker, wondering what on earth she was discussing.

“Hot?” Hardison asked.

“Oh, Nate and Sophie and Eliot.”

“No, no, no. No way on this earth.”

“Nuh uh.  Besides, with Sophie? Can you imagine?  I would not want Nate and his control issues.”

“Hardison, you’ve thought about this way too much,” Eliot pointed out as he turned toward Parker.

“Wait, what? Both of you have thought about it?” Parker pried.

“No,” they both shouted back at her.

“We like you,” Hardison told her.

“And us,” Eliot finished.

“Good. Good. Might be nice to see Sophie naked.”

“Parker.”

“What? I’ve seen everyone else naked.”

“You saw Nate naked?”

“What?  Haven’t you?” Parker asked Eliot.

“No,” Eliot responded indignantly. “Not on my to do list.”

“Good. Because I was about to be jealous,” Hardison announced as he rolled over to his side.

“Drama queens. I live with drama queens.”

 

 

 


End file.
